‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’   Keats

As the daylight hours decrease and the chill in the air forces us to don extra layers, my interest is aroused by the seasonal changes that herald the start of Autumn. For it is at this, my favourite time of year, that the botanical world starts to do the most amazing things. Leaves begin to acquire fiery hues and lose their moisture content, often twisting and curling into beautiful sculptural forms. The Sycamore, for instance, such an unassuming tree for much of the year, has leaves that really come into their own in October and November and are the subject of many of my drawings and paintings.

The hedgerows are given a splash of colour as Dog Roses, Spindle trees, Blackthorn and Hawthorn bushes produce hips and berries providing both a visual feast and a literal one for birds and small mammals. I collect seedheads in the Autumn months to scrutinise under a magnifying-glass, marvelling at their complex strucures and recording these in my Art Books. One of my favourites, the poppy- although having pretty blooms- is far more beautiful once its glaucous green seedheads develop and its stems start to ‘loop the loop’!

The images on this page show a selection of my pictures that record botanical details at this time of year.